


Melt

by Kyluxtrashpit (ApostateRevolutionary)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hair, Hair Braiding, Hair touching, M/M, Soft Kylux, there is no good tag for playing with hair what the hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 15:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8062219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApostateRevolutionary/pseuds/Kyluxtrashpit
Summary: Kylo Ren, as it turns out, has an off button.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this fic turned out not really how I wanted it, but I tried, okay?
> 
> Although, really, the fact that it took me this long to try to write an overly fluffy hair-touching fic for this ship is astounding. Hair-touching is my _thing_. Pretty hair fucks me up. My dreams are haunted by Kylo Ren’s hair and I will never know peace again

It had been discovered by accident. One night, in the moments of afterglow, Hux had given into his long-standing urge – a desire that had been present, if he was being honest, since he’d first seen Ren unmasked, but hadn’t been seriously considered until they’d fallen into bed together the first time – to reach out and stroke Ren’s hair. He disguised the itch simply to touch those silken locks by brushing some errant strands out of Ren’s face. He’d intended to stop there, really, he had, but once he’d found that Ren’s hair was just as soft as it looked, thick and smooth, he simply couldn’t pull away.

He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he’d expected from Ren, but what he got was dark eyes staring at him, partly questioning and partly pleased with just a twinge of anxious uncertainty.  Hux paused, his fingers buried in Ren’s tousled hair and resting against his scalp, then swept through Ren’s hair with intent. Ren’s eyelids fluttered and Hux repeated the action, sweeping through those gorgeous locks. Hux continued, unsure if he relished more in the feel of those silky waves around his fingers as he ran them through or in Ren’s hooded eyes, the lids threatening to close completely.

Moments passed like that, silent, and Hux shifted to bury his second hand in Ren’s hair as well. Ren’s eyes shut truly this time, a sound so low it was barely audible escaping his throat. He then turned over, facing away from Hux and baring the back of his head to more of Hux’s ministrations. Surely, no one who’d ever had the privilege of touching Ren’s hair could possibly turn down the obvious plea for more, so Hux didn’t, combing through it with his fingers.

Hux had never seen Ren this pliant, this _melty;_ he didn’t even complain when Hux occasionally snagged on a knot, gently pulling it free so he could pet Ren’s hair with abandon. He ran his fingers through, then twirled the ends around for a time, and then sunk his fingers in to gently massage Ren’s scalp, spurred on by Ren’s small noises of clear contentment. Hux lost himself in it, the sensation so soothing he lost track of time. It was only when he realized that the sounds coming from Ren were no longer pleased little whimpers and had turned to soft snores that he reluctantly pulled his hands free, curling up against Ren and following him into sleep.

* * *

It had continued from there; Hux couldn’t have stopped himself if he’d wanted to. Ren’s hair was the softest thing he’d ever touched. No one, not a single person he’d been with in any capacity, had a mane comparable to Ren’s, and the fact that the Knight seemed to enjoy the process just as much, if not more, than Hux did made it even better.

Hux was content with the current arrangement; a simple, post-coital activity they engaged in whenever Ren stuck around after (an increasingly common event, Hux didn’t fail to notice). That was, until, he walked into his quarters to be greeted with a sight that was apparently just the sort of thing he had to deal with now.

Ren had procured a mirror from somewhere – somewhere that had better not have been off Hux’s refresher wall – and was seated cross-legged in front of it, concentrating very hard while holding up a thin lock of hair in each hand. A third clump stood up on its own, an oddly unsettling sight even with the knowledge of Ren’s powers, and it appeared Ren was trying to maneuver the strands together into a small braid on the left side of the top of his head.

Hux had frozen in the doorway, mesmerized both by Ren’s methodical movements and by the momentary realization that this was his life, but snapped out of it when Ren stopped, staring at him through the mirror.

“What?” Ren asked, sounding a touch defensive.

“You’re… braiding your hair?” Hux really tried not to sound so surprised, but his voice betrayed him.

“Yes,” Ren said testily, as if he was expecting Hux to mock him. “Sometimes I braid it before I leave for missions. It keeps it from getting in the way when I take my helmet off, since I won’t have access to a sonic for a while.”

“Ah,” was all Hux could manage, suddenly remembering that Ren was leaving for a week or so before the end of the cycle and tamping down the resulting surge of disappointment.

Before he’d really thought about it, Hux crossed the room, making his way to stand right behind Ren, surveying Ren’s progress. It seemed to be terribly slow, likely taking a lot of focus for Ren to use both hands and the Force at the same time, especially when working with a mirror image. Clearly, there must be a better way.

“It would likely be faster if I did it,” Hux said matter-of-factly.

Ren glanced up at him through the mirror, suspicious. “I can do it myself.”

“I never said you couldn’t,” Hux said. “I merely suggested I might be able to do it quicker.”

When Ren didn’t say anything more and just continued to stare, Hux huffed and retrieved the chair from behind his desk, pulling it up behind Ren and sitting down. He still had to scoot forward a touch, but the height was sufficient for this purpose. That was what he’d hoped.

He cocked an eyebrow questioningly at Ren through the mirror, only proceeding when he received a hesitant nod. Ren released all three of the locks of hair he’d been working with and dropped his hands, acquiescing to whatever Hux was going to do. Hux, meanwhile, was silently hoping that his knowledge of braiding wires and the like would translate well enough to doing the same with hair.

The braid Ren had started on was absolutely perfect – clearly he was practiced at this – but Hux combed it out anyway, running his fingers through all of Ren’s hair under the guise of searching for any knots. Ren leaned back a touch, resting lightly against his legs, as if he was resisting fully relaxing. Well. Hux doubted that would last.

Hux continued combing through until he could no longer fool himself into believing he was doing it for any reason beyond his own enjoyment, then gathered up some strands into a bundle that looked similar to the clumps Ren had been working with before. He grabbed two more bunches, keeping two in one hand and the last in his other. There was a pause, Hux mentally working through the mechanics, and then he started the process.

It wasn’t as bad as he expected, really. Ren’s hair was mostly cooperative, though the curl of it started to get in the way when Hux neared the end. He’d made the braid about as long as he could and was about to search for something to tie it off with when something small, thin, and circular appeared in front of his face. Sure enough, the object floating there was a hair tie and Hux snatched it, tying the first braid off.

“You couldn’t have just handed it to me?” he asked, unable to resist.

“That was easier,” Ren said, and it was then Hux noticed his legs were taking more of Ren’s weight as the man relaxed a bit more, his eyes now closed serenely. “Just do the top layer. The rest doesn’t get in my way.”

Hux took a moment to survey the braid he’d already made and was mostly pleased with what he found. It could’ve been tighter, perhaps, but it would do its job of keeping Ren’s hair under control. Hux started sorting through Ren’s hair again to make a second braid, and then simply repeated the process.

Ren had relaxed fully at some point during the braiding, resting most of his weight against Hux’s legs as he worked. A few times, Hux had to force Ren to lift his head up, as leaning it back too far made braiding his hair largely impossible. Each time he had to tie the last few off, he’d had to nudge Ren to remind him to pass up more hair ties; the man was so lost in bliss he didn’t notice.

When Hux was done, there were six small braids containing all the hair on top of Ren’s head. They weren’t quite perfect and Hux’s hands itched to start again and make them so, but they would do. He patted Ren on the head once to show he was finished.

“You’re done,” he said, enjoying the way Ren’s eyes struggled to open and how glassy they were when they did.

Ren cleared his throat and then inspected the work in the mirror, seeming to approve. “Thank you, General.”

With that, Ren got up and began finishing preparations to leave. Hux busied himself with paperwork, a distraction from the familiar but annoying sense that he was going to miss Ren and his stupid, fluffy hair. He put up a token amount of resistance when Ren gave him a farewell kiss and swept out towards the shuttle bay.

But, despite all of his posturing, when Ren returned after eight long days, Hux ordered him to his quarters immediately and buried his hands in those silky, albeit greasy and still partially braided locks to crash their lips together, kissing Ren breathless. And when Ren grinned against his lips, the only retaliation Hux could manage was a sharp bite of Ren’s lower lip as he tugged the Knight towards the bed.

* * *

Months of involvement had made Hux rather attuned to Ren’s moods. The way his fists clenched and tension coiled through every muscle when he was angry, the way he looked away and pouted silently when he was upset, the way his eyes fluttered shut and his body melted into or against the nearest surface when he was relaxed. Even the way he seemed to perk up a bit at little things, like whenever Hux referred to him as ‘Kylo’ instead.

It was because of this awareness of Kylo’s feelings – one that seemed to surpass Kylo’s own the vast majority of the time – that Hux knew something must have gone terribly wrong on his last mission. Firstly, Kylo was three days late. Secondly, he didn’t show up to Hux’s quarters when he did return, as was their routine now. Thirdly, and most importantly, the ship’s video feeds showed that he’d stomped off, fists clenched and posture tight, and found himself an empty room full of equipment and control panels. He’d spent the past three minutes and seventeen seconds pacing back and forth within it angrily.

Hux went to find Kylo as soon as he could, hopefully soon enough to prevent the gratuitous property damage that was no doubt mere moments away from occurring. Kylo’s tantrums had become less frequent since their involvement with each other became more physical, but they still happened when things were bad enough. Though whether the reduction was because he knew Hux hated dealing with the extra expenses and was trying to be considerate or if it was simply having the opportunity to release stress in another way was unclear. A small part of Hux hoped it was the former.

When Hux arrived, overriding the door Kylo had apparently locked, the helmeted head turned towards him immediately. The movement was too fast – even more evidence that Kylo was not in a good headspace. Hux took a slightly deeper breath and steeled himself, trying to ignore the quiet clatter of shaking panels and machinery around him.

“What happened, Kylo?” There was no point beating around the bush.

Kylo stared for a moment longer, though Hux had no way of knowing if Kylo’s eyes were actually looking at him through the visor, then started pacing again. His breathing was heavy, coming out as puffs as static through the modulator. Hux let him go back and forth between the ends of the room twice more.

“Tell me,” Hux said, softer than he could have. “What happened?”

Kylo stopped, his right hand opening and closing in frustration. He moved it towards his lightsaber then aborted the motion, looking at Hux again. Even though the mask showed nothing, Hux swore he could sense Kylo’s beseeching expression, the one he wore when he was all but begging for guidance, for something, anything that would stop whatever was going on in his head at that moment. Hux took a step forward, coming closer.

“Come on,” he said, voice still calm, as if he was talking to a frightened and dangerous animal – in a way, he supposed he was. “I can’t do anything for you if you won’t talk to me.”

A deep, modulated breath, and then Kylo was reaching up, flicking the catches on his helmet and pulling the thing off. Hux was not surprised with what he saw underneath – watery eyes filled with barely controlled rage, slightly flushed cheeks, and an unconscious pout on his lips. He stared at Hux straight on, as if daring Hux to mock him while silently pleading with him not to.

Hux came closer still, close enough to touch, but he wouldn’t yet. Kylo didn’t always respond well to it, especially when he was this volatile. Calming him when he was in this state was always hit or miss; either it worked marvelously or it just set him off worse, and Hux still hadn’t figured out with certainty what worked and what didn’t.

“Good,” he praised, unsure if it was the right course, “we can talk now.”

Kylo just continued to stare intensely for long enough that it was uncomfortable, but then he quickly averted his eyes before speaking, “I-it went wrong. The mission.”

Hux tamped down the surge of relief that Kylo was talking and focused on sounding like he was calm enough for the both of them. Kylo just had to think he knew what he was doing.

“What happened?” Hux asked for the third time, hoping to actually get an answer.

“There was – it wasn’t there. Snoke – he _said_ it would be there. That I could find it.” Kylo’s voice wavered as he spoke, his speech even more stilted as it always was when he was upset, particularly with himself. “I should have found it! I… I didn’t. I didn’t get what I needed for the Supreme Leader. I failed. Again.”

Of course. It had been one of Snoke’s fanciful relic-hunting missions. They were a complete waste of time and resources, in Hux’s opinion, especially since less than half of them ended with Kylo actually finding the relic he’d set out for. The ones that weren’t found were probably never there to begin with, or at least hadn’t been for some time, but that’s simply what happened when one followed rumours instead of substantiated intel. If it were Hux’s choice, these missions wouldn’t happen; or, if he later discovered there was some actual necessity to them, he would make sure the information was _real_ before sending Kylo out. Otherwise, Kylo would end up like this. He always did whenever he believed he’d failed, regardless of if the task could’ve even been accomplished in the first place.

But it wasn’t as if Hux could say all that. He couldn’t tell Kylo that it’d probably been a wild bantha chase from the start. He couldn’t tell Kylo that the mission had been pointless to begin with so it didn’t matter if he didn’t complete it. He couldn’t tell Kylo that Snoke was probably acting off an old rumour and that such information was all but useless, and that Snoke should know better. Kylo had never seen Snoke as the powerful but still fallible and mortal leader he was; Kylo saw him as salvation personified. Hux couldn’t approach this by pointing out Snoke’s (rather obvious, in this case) flaws. He had to play his next steps carefully.

Kylo’s shoulders had relaxed after the admission, his head hanging down, but those dark eyes were staring up from underneath his curtain of hair. There was still fury in them, but a certain kind of fear as well: fear of Snoke’s potential punishment, certainly, but also fear that Hux would react in kind. That Hux, too, would be angry with him for botching a mission, for _failing_ , and Hux was conscious of the fact that Kylo seemed to have more trouble bearing his disappointment lately than Snoke’s. And that was despite Snoke’s disappointment usually including unfairly cruel and painful punishments.

“Kylo,” he started slowly, wetting his lips as he forged ahead into unknown waters, “it wasn’t your fault. You must know that.”

Kylo stared at him, wide-eyed and stunned. There was still a little hesitation there, as if he didn’t really believe Hux and was just waiting for the scathing remark to come so he could get on with his breakdown. But it didn’t. Hux simply reached out and pulled Kylo against him, the Knight taking a moment to relax into the embrace and bury his face in Hux’s shoulder.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Hux repeated, feeling Kylo shudder against him in a way that might have been a sob.

Hux moved one of his hands up Kylo’s back until he reached the dark curls that flowed over the back of his neck, running his fingers through what he could reach easily. Kylo took a deep, deep breath, the action seeming to soothe him even now, so Hux continued, feeling the still present tension and anger radiate out of Kylo with every movement of his hand.

When Kylo began to slump against him, his bulk really too much to be supported by anyone but himself, Hux maneuvered them until they were sitting on the floor. Something so undignified would usually be below someone of Hux’s standards, but this was a special case. Especially with the way Kylo nuzzled himself into Hux’s lap, both of Hux’s hands in his hair as Hux murmured encouragements, and Hux couldn’t even complain when Kylo wiped the obvious damp trails on his face off on Hux’s uniform.

They stayed like that for far longer than was proper, but Hux couldn’t bring himself to leave, not with Kylo this pliant immediately after being so vulnerable and ready to snap. He’d have to remember this the next time, Hux noted. If a few kind, albeit accurate, words and some touching of his hair was one way of stopping Kylo’s breakdowns before they started, well, Hux could do that.

* * *

A General’s work never seemed to end and thus was Hux’s life. Working late would always be something he had to do and he was perfectly fine with that. He even enjoyed it, to a certain extent. Kylo, however, was less than pleased with the situation, and more than one of his episodes had been triggered by Kylo perceiving Hux working for too long as a rejection. But still, they managed to find ways around that.

On nights where he had to work late, he’d bring his datapad to bed when he could, Kylo laying his head in Hux’s lap without prompting, and would tangle a hand in those luxurious, black locks. It was soothing for both of them; Hux swore it helped lower his stress levels and Kylo always slept more soundly when he fell asleep to Hux’s gentle ministrations, knowing Hux was there even if he was busy. On those nights, Kylo often fell asleep before Hux was even done, dozing off right there, comfortably resting in Hux’s lap.

And during the times when Hux was truly too busy to leave his desk and Kylo was feeling particularly unhinged or needy (although, really, it seemed the former was frequently the cause of the latter), Kylo would bring over a couple of pillows and blankets, set up a little nest next to Hux’s chair, and lay his head on Hux’s thigh, dark eyes staring up pleadingly. Hux would oblige him with a huff of false exasperation and a small smile.

On those nights, he’d frequently get lost in his work and his hand would still, something he wouldn’t notice until Kylo would butt his head against it, silently begging for more like a needy pet. Hux would simply chuckle and indulge Kylo again, unable to deny such a shameless display. And with how much Kylo loved it, how it seemed to keep him so calm and pliant, and how Hux relished in the impossible softness of Kylo’s hair, how could he?

And if that wasn’t evidence enough that Hux was in far too deep with this man, the fact that he couldn’t even bring himself to scold Kylo when he sometimes – and he usually wasn’t even asleep when he did it – got so relaxed that he left a puddle of drool in Hux’s lap, well, that truly sealed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://kyluxtrashpit.tumblr.com/) too


End file.
